Dinah Thyerlei's Online Review Report Card

I've been a patient of Dr Thyerlei for about eight years. She has always taken the time to talk about medications, possible concerns, outside stressors, health insurance, and anything else that may influence my care. I always feel like she listens to me and I never feel as if she's rushing me.

My wife started having seizures 2 years ago. Dr. Thyerlei has been no help to find a cause. Gave her medication for epilepsy and tells her that the "data shows"... it would be nice to be treated as an individual and have a doctor that has compassion for their patients instead of just trying to keep them on meds. She finally is switching doctors.

In September I woke up in the middle of the night to my husband having a seizure. I had no idea what was happening and called 911. He was foaming at the mouth and convulsing. He didn’t know who I was, where he lived, or what was happening. We ended up seeing Dinah Thyerlei maybe a week or two after the ER. I had just changed jobs and my health insurance hadn’t started yet, so we had an $8k medical bill. At our next follow up appointment I explained that I thought he was having a different type of seizure several times per day and during his sleep after researching on the Epilepsy Foundation website. He had every symptom that was listed on one type of seizure. We had an EEG that she deemed abnormal, but no diagnosis. She called it “abnormal behavior”. He is on anti seizure meds for 3 months and she sent us on our way. She has no empathy, no compassion. She said that he’s not allowed to drive until he has gone 6 months without an “episode” yet still no diagnosis of a seizure disorder. His job is driving, then up on ladder with tools installing blinds. We applied for paid medical leave through the state to help make ends meet during this time and it has to be signed by the doctor. She took it upon herself to write on the side of the form that “he can otherwise work”. There is no space on the forms for the doctors opinion, it is solely asking does this person have a serious medical issue. Thankfully we were approved despite her attempt to thwart our ability to access a benefit we pay for and desperately needed. We have requested a referral to UW Medical to get the help my husband needs, as we were never going to get it with this horrible excuse for a doctor. I have never experienced a doctor that has no regard for the suffering of a human being physically and financially. If you want someone who cares, avoid this woman.

It has been about 4 years since I was evaluated by Dr. Thyerlei and the experience still haunts me. I was referred to her by my primary doctor because I was experiencing neurological symptoms that we suspected were caused by dysautonomia. I explained to Dr. Thyerlei that I was having episodes of poor balance/walking into walls, slurring speech and weakness in my hands, etc. Dr. Thyerlei's bedside manner was atrocious and it was clear that she didn't believe anything I had to say, nor did she seem to believe that I have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome despite having already been diagnosed by a rheumatologist (and later diagnosed again by a geneticist that specializes in connective tissue disorders). How did she know I didn't have EDS? She looked at me and said "your joints look fine." It just got worse from there. She wanted to spend more time telling me how she was "scared for me" because I use THC to treat some of my symptoms than to actually explore why they are occurring in the first place. Her neurological exam of me was aggressive and rushed. It felt like she was angry at me for having to perform it, snapping instructions out faster than I could respond to them. This culminated in her pulling out a safety pin from her pocket and poking at me to check for sensation. I have no idea if that pin was used on other patients and it certainly wasn't sterile, yet she poked me so aggressively that it pierced the skin on my toe and a drop of blood formed. Having a background in nursing, I was horrified by this. There is no excuse for it. I expressed that my doctor and I suspected that I was experiencing dysautonomia, a common issue with EDS. Dr. Thyerlei rudely told me "dysautonomia doesn't come and go." I relayed this later to my doctor and the look on her face was disbelief before she informed me that she would never refer another patient to Dr. Thyerlei again. I can say without a doubt this was the worst, most psychologically damaging experience I have ever had in seeking care from a doctor. I still break down in tears years later and struggle every time I have to sit down with a new caregiver because I expect to be dismissed and treated poorly. I have continued to deteriorate in health and can no longer work, a fight I was near to losing when I sought Dr. Thyerlei's help. She did absolutely nothing for me, showed not one iota of compassion, then dismissed me back to my primary doctor. I would not recommend her to my worst enemy. No one deserves the experience I had.

Dr. T spent 75 minutes explaining test results, following up on all the various consults that my MIL had done by previous neurologists. She talked plainly without a lot of jargon and was very thorough and direct with her conclusions and instructions. She did not sugarcoat and was clear that lifestyle changes were required for safety's sake but did not get upset at my MIL's inability to accept that it was time to stop driving and to stop having a glass of wine every night. If you want a neurologist who is not just a specialist in a silo but who is able and willing to look at the whole picture/whole person and talk to you straight, then I highly recommend Dr. T.

This provider is changing my mothers medication without even communicating the change to her. My mom is calling me in tears as her medication (not narcotic) helps her live her life comfortably. She offers no other alternatives; I would not recommend this provider.

I just had an appointment with Dr. Dinah a couple days ago and she was amazed me with her experience and very helpful. However, she is a doctor that is so nice that I have ever had before. Her nurse Emma also pretty nice and helpful too! Thank you them both so much! :)

Dr. Thyerlei interrupts a lot and gets off track a lot during appointments. Dr. Thyerlei does not take into account patient history during appointments. She has poor bedside manner and repeated patterns of behavior at follow up appointments. A concerning development during an appointment was Dr. Thyerlei telling me to stop taking a medication she did not prescribe to me; the medication was a SSRI which can have serious implications when ceasing to take. I would recommend finding someone else if possible. She is also very outdated when it comes to CBD.

On 2013, I was paralized waist to down. Beside the inmovility and suffering from intense pain 24/7 my morale was tottaly down. I almost suicide! Dr. Thyerlei not only helps me to walk again. Her professionalism, dedication and emotional support motivating me to re-build my professional and personal life. She know how to use all the necesary tools that will helps on her patients recovery. She is an excellent Neurologist and the only one I ever trust (MSE from Edmonds, WA).

Great experience! Dinah is an expert and is a straight talker no doubt. She gave me the run down, formed a battle plan, and we executed. Vertebral Arterial Dissection with mini stroke healed 100% in 90 days. It was a very scary ordeal but Dinah was always ahead of it. On day one she warned me about all the typical symptoms i will encounter which really put me at ease when they actually came to pass. Her diagnosis was spot on, her treatment was even better. Many doctors will throw drugs at you and call it a precaution. Dinah doesnt play "what if" she takes the data in front of her and works the problem. She doesnt string you along, she doesnt hook you into treatments for the rest of your life; she gets you back on track asap. Book Dinah, pay attention, do what she says, thank me later..